Not Just Another Skin Repair...

[ChetsJug]

My driveway and the next house have back to back miror driveways with junipers going 3/4 the way down between the properties. The part from the build line to the street is connected only by a strip of red bricks. I woke up one morning to knocking on my door. It was Dave telling me that his teenage daughter, who had just gotten her learners permit, was backing their 2011 Honda Altima and drifted over the driveway and tore a hole in my motor home. The Harvest was backed down to the sidewalk as it usually is on weekends when I work on cars.

The poor girl was pretty rattled. The Honda's plastic mirror cover was under my motor home and their was a post where the mirror USED to be on the right door of the Honda. The hole in the motor home was a ripped horizontal section that was about the size of a cucumber. I pulled out the crinkled piece of aluminum and flattened it. I used some calk to waterproof it. Dave was telling me he would pay for everything. I said "Well, you cant exactly find this type of siding anymore, so let me talk to some people and get some ideas".

I never did talk to anyone. It took me a couple days to ponder this thing called "hole". The panel it was on, under the windows, went the entire length of the motorhome. I hate splices and have seen people replace panels and you can always see it because you just cant match 1970's siding paint. I looked inside and out where the damage was. It was in the rear master bedroom wall. I have a goucho lounge set up on one side, a swivel rocker with the little corner TV bench with the 115VAC hookups/circuit breakers underneath on the other side. Just inside the rip was the wet bar liquor bottle rack. I do drink hard liquor, but I sure don't need a rack of 5 bottles! A 5th of Jack Daniel's will do me fine lol. So, how do I exploit this situation? Read on

It hit me in a flash of lightning (okay, so the storm was miles away). The next weekend I took off to the 'pull-it-yourself' auto dismantalers. The kind you pay $2 to get in and go play. Disneyland for DIYers! I can spend an hour there just looking around, before a wrench is even pulled from my bag. This one has motor homes in one row way in the back. I have bought sliding windows, crank out louvers, skin & such. Today, I was on the hunt for a utility door. It only needed to be 6 inches high, but 12 inches or longer. I found one about 8X13. It didn't have the exact trim on the edges. It was a tad rounded and my doors are all mitered square frames, but what the heck!

I went home with my kill from the great hunt and mounted it on my motor home. I had to carefully cut back the aluminum siding and look for the "studs" (aka kindling) inside the wall. I used one factory stud and fabricated the other 3 sides. I ripped a 2X4 on the band saw and cut them to length so I had a full 4 sided frame inside the wall. I tapped them into place to fit everything, then took them back out and applied wood bonding glue on the edges and sides of all the frame. Then I cut and opening in the inside paneling wall to match the frame studs. I used short wood screws on the door frames and inside in the paneling. I didn't worry about the joints in the frame. The glue will keep the ends fastened strong enough and keep it from making noise.

I have as of yet, to do the finishing touches on the inside modifications. From the outside, the dang thing looks like.... well... a factory placed utility door! Go figure! Even though it's off white and not the cream & brown of the original paint job, it really does not look out of place.

I also have a really kewl new hatch that I can hand drinks out to people sitting on the back side of the motor home. They can also hold their drink inside and get more ice so they don't have to come in and lose all my cold air on a hot day!! Hmmm, that's a great idea! I'll mount an ice bucket just under the door and they can reach in get their own!

I handed Dave the bill from the junk yard. It was $5. He gave me a ten dollar bill and a 12 pack of my fav stout beer

Dave's daughter is backing up very well now. She thinks I'm a bit strange, but is very happy I turned her accident into a usefull thing.